Are your medical records secure?

You might expect health-care providers and insurance companies to use the best security measures to keep your medical information private.

But a national expert on patient privacy said it’s naive to think that your health record is secure. And with the federal government pushing for more electronic records, security will only get worse.

“Because of the primitive state of health technology, there are a lot of risks with electronic records, frankly far more than paper,” said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of Patient Privacy Rights, a nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas.

Peel, who recently spoke at a health-policy conference in Columbus, said most people don’t know about all of the nonmedical staff people who have access to their electronic health information.